Bliss.
If she were to describe the way she felt about her life after her rescue in one word, then "bliss" would surely be it.
"Maiko, it's bath time." She heard a voice calling.
Maiko, Onikuma Maiko, a name once forgotten now reclaimed.
'Carry.' She mentally transmitted a single word, her voice monotone, almost robotic in the way it sounded in her transmission target's mind.
And, like always, the white haired boy that had taken her from that awful place came into her room with a wry but indulgent smile and lifted her up, carrying her towards the bathroom.
Under Shiki's meticulous care, after but a few days of intensive treatment, Maiko was no longer just skin and bone, incapable of moving by herself, eating normal food or even just existing without external support.
Although still very thin and petite, looking even younger than she already was, she could still move around by herself now, so long as she did not overexert herself.
But Maiko always acted spoiled and asked Shiki to carry her around whenever possible.
She never made any demands nor made any fuss when the boy denied her requests, being rather sensible in those cases.
However, she absolutely loved it when he took care of her, fed her and bathed her like she was completely incapable of doing anything on her own.
Loved the feeling of his hands washing her body, the gentle way he wrapped her in a towel afterwards, the skillful way he dried and brushed her inky long hair.
'But you still look like a flat, expressionless wooden board.' A dissonant voice, belonging to a far more animated Maiko, sounded in her mindspace.
'Just let me take over. I can empower our body to "reward" Shiki-nii in all kinds of ways, showing properly delighted expressions whenever he spoils us. He would certainly prefer that.' The animated Maiko continued.
'Your "properly delighted" expressions would just disgust Shiki-nii-sama. And as for "rewarding" . . . That is better saved for after we both grow up a bit.' The monotone voice from before countered.
'Tch! Coward! I know you want to do it too!' Animated Maiko shouted but received no response.
If Shiki was privy to this inner convo, he would once again complain about how precociously filthy children's minds were in the Shinobi world.
Though he lacked experience even in his previous life, owing to his condition, he was still determined not to do anything until he himself was at least 18 . . . Maybe 16 would be enough . . . Definitely not below 14!
Back to Maiko however, the animated version of her was what the Kurama clan usually referred to as Id or Ido, though the mixing with the Onikuma clan's traits certainly changed things up a bit, making the entity less a malevolent demon and more like a primal, unhinged counterpart.
The monotone Maiko also did not refer to herself as the "real" or "original" Maiko either. Instead, she went by Ego.
Ego and Ido, the two of them together, were Onikuma Maiko.
Though she had issues with that name as well.
'Talk?' Ego, usually in charge of external communication, transmitted an inquiry to Shiki.
"Sure." He replied out loud, one of his eyebrows raised with curiosity.
'Now this is a rare occurrence.' He thought to himself.
Usually, Maiko kept her words to a minimum for any situation, almost as if endeavoring to use as little of an imaginary daily supply of words as possible.
Asking to just talk was not standard at all. In fact, in weeks of taking care of the girl, it was the first time it happened. She was quite passive by nature, well, by "nurture" would be more accurate.
'The Onikuma clan.' Ego transmitted, as if that alone was enough.
Having been taking care of her in absolutely everything for several weeks however, Shiki had become supernaturally good at interpreting her thoughts and feelings from just a few words or even no words at all.
"Want to get rid of the name?" The boy asked.
Getting a nod in return, he followed up with another question.
"Don't you want to meet with your parents first before making that decision?"
Maiko tilted her head for a split second before decisively shaking her head, communicating that there was simply no need.
Sure, her parents might not have been in a position to refuse the commands of an elder but it was not like they even made much of an attempt.
It was more like token resistance to save their reputation in the eyes of their clans, at least that was how it was in the Root's records.
Maybe they really weren't at fault, maybe they were regretful, maybe giving her up was the hardest thing they ever did but even then, the girl felt not even the slightest bit of connection to either of her parents' clans.
She would keep the name Maiko, the one she was given at birth, the one Shiki called her by but she did not wish to keep the clan surname.
"If you're sure then that's fine by me." Shiki acquiesced.
"So what surname do you want to replace it with? Or do you just want to go by Maiko alone?" He inquired.
At that question, Maiko seemed to stall.
Both Ego and Ido seemed to freeze.
Time trickled by but even as silence filled the space, Shiki had no intention of hurrying the girl.
. . .
. . .
. . .
'Maiko.' The response was mentally transmitted.
But the boy only mysteriously smiled, making Maiko near imperceptibly tremble, just a bit.
"Are you you don't want to be called . . . let's say . . ." Shiki purposely dragged his words in a teasing manner.
". . . Something like Ryumon Maiko perhaps?" He spoke casually but his sharp, gleaming eyes were locked on the girl for her reaction.
Maiko did not reply.
But slowly . . . ever so slowly, her cheeks started to redden.
Her ears followed.
After a full minute, her whole face and even part of her neck had become tomato colored.
"I'll have you officially registered as Ryumon Maiko then." Shiki decisively declared.
The girl's mouth opened and closed like a fish, cute but weak sounds of shock and fluster escaping.
Maiko could not yet properly speak while her mind was too chaotic to make coherent mental transmissions.
*
At a later time, within the Uzumaki Residence . . .
"As I said. The girl does not wish to see you and is even going to take my Shiki's surname. Her life is not any of your concern." Mito, completely unruffled, mercilessly rejected the appeals of the couple in front of her.
"You cannot simply do this! She is our daughter! There are laws in this village!" The husband, the current young patriarch of the Onikuma, exclaimed with outrage.
'Pretty sure you didn't even try that speech when Root came knocking.' Shiki, or a shadow clone of him, thought to himself on the side.
'Maybe they simply assumed that while Danzo ignores the law, we are beholden to it.' The boy's clone mused.
"As far as I know, the records officially state your daughter tragically died seven years ago, when she was just a year old." The Uzumaki matriarch calmly countered the husband.
"You must be confused." She added with clear dismissal in her tone.
Tears seemed to form in the corner of the wife's eyes, the Kurama clan woman that gave birth to Maiko.
She seemed to want to speak up and say something but, in the end, she despondently lowered her head, listlessly letting her husband pull her away as he left, clearly still unwilling to let the matter rest.
+++++
Hey, Author here!
To promote the novel I will be releasing BONUS CHAPTERS on SUNDAYS based on the previous week's power stone count.
100 Power Stones = 1 Bonus Chapter
500 Power Stones = 2 Bonus Chapters
1000 Power Stones = 3 Bonus Chapters
Every earned BONUS CHAPTER on Webnovel will also be posted on Scribble.
Just a reminder that you can read up to a FULL MONTH ahead of this site on pa-treon.
I'm trying to become a full time Author now and I'm not going to be starting any new novels just so I can make sure this one is properly completed.
Find those sweet advanced chapters on pa-treon.com/lusoba without the -